EARTH NEGOTIATIONS BULLETIN
PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT (IISD)
WRITTEN AND EDITED BY:
Paola Bettelli
Chad Carpenter, LL.M.
Peter Doran
Steve Wise
Editor
Pamela Chasek, Ph.D.
Managing Editor
Langston James Goree VI "Kimo"
Vol. 12 No. 56
Monday, 20 October 1997
MEETINGS OF THE SUBSIDIARY BODIES TO THE FRAMEWORK
CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
20 - 30 OCTOBER 1997
The seventh sessions of the Subsidiary Body for
Implementation (SBI-7) and the Subsidiary Body for
Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA-7) will open on
Monday, 20 October 1997 at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn,
Germany. The eighth session of the Ad Hoc Group on the
Berlin Mandate (AGBM-8) will open on Wednesday, 22 October.
MEETINGS SINCE AGBM-7
WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE: US President Bill
Clinton convened a White House Conference on Climate Change
on 6 October 1997 at Georgetown University in Washington,
DC. The conference, which was simulcast to universities and
colleges across the country, consisted of opening speeches,
panel discussions on the science of global warming and
climate change, the role of technology and economic
impacts. Local panel discussions were held at each
participating university. The conference was part of a
White House effort to build domestic support for a treaty
to set legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
Clinton said the US will ask for ‘‘meaningful but equitable
commitments’’ from all nations, but did not spell out in
detail what the US position would be in Kyoto. He said his
administration was divided. Some economic advisers doubted
new technologies could adequately soften the economic blow
of strict reductions of pollution. Clinton also said he was
convinced that the science of climate change is real, as
scientists at the conference said broad patterns of high
temperatures over the last several years were consistent
with computer predictions of global warming.
Many speakers supported the idea that the US and other
countries must fight global warming, but economists
differed on how swift and drastic action should be. The
panel of economists offered widely differing views on how
best to fight global warming. One recommended a carbon tax
to cut emissions, as long as it came with offsetting tax
cuts and market incentives such as emissions trading
credits and credits for energy-saving projects in
developing countries, while another said boosting energy
prices could produce a recession like that in the oil-
shocked 1970s. Another said Clinton’s decision should be
based on taking enough time for an “economic transition’’
that helps workers through changes. For more information
contact: the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy; tel: +1 (202) 395-7347.
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: The Union of Concerned
Scientists met on 30 September 1997 in Washington, DC.
Nearly 1,500 scientists from 60 countries urged immediate
action to curb man-made climate changes. The scientists,
including 98 Nobel laureates, urged world leaders to adopt
a strong treaty to fight emissions of carbon from burning
fossil fuels that are changing the climate. Without swift
action, they said the world faces a future of rising sea
levels, more intense storms and droughts, food shortages,
spreading diseases and vanishing wildlife. The Declaration
issued by the scientists states that the world’s political
leaders can demonstrate a new commitment to the protection
of the environment, and they should augment the
Convention’s voluntary measures with legally binding
commitments to reduce industrial nations’ emissions of
heat-trapping gases significantly below 1990 levels in
accordance with a near-term timetable. The Declaration also
specifies that over time, developing nations must also be
engaged in limiting their emissions. Developed and
developing nations must cooperate to mitigate climatic
disruption. The scientists encouraged other scientists and
citizens around the world to hold their leaders accountable
for addressing the global warming threat.
The Declaration also outlines linkages and further damage.
It notes, inter alia, that destructive logging and
deforestation for agriculture continue to wreak havoc on
the world’s remaining tropical forests. Fossil-fueled
energy use is climbing, both in industrial nations and in
the developing world, adding to atmospheric carbon. Efforts
to enhance energy conservation and improve efficiency are
much hindered by low energy costs and by perverse
incentives that encourage waste. The Declaration also notes
that the insurance industry has recognized the risks posed
by climate change. The Declaration discusses water scarcity
and food security, noting that humanity now uses over one-
half of the total accessible freshwater runoff. Freshwater
is the scarcest resource in the Middle East and in North
Africa. Efforts to husband freshwater are not succeeding
there, in East Asia, or in the Pacific.
Global food production now appears to be outpaced by growth
in consumption and population. There is broad agreement
that food demand will double by 2030. Climate change is
likely to exacerbate these food problems by adversely
affecting water supplies, soil conditions, temperature
tolerances, and growing seasons. According to the
Declaration, climate change will accelerate the appalling
pace at which species are now being liquidated, especially
in vulnerable ecosystems. For more information contact the
Union of Concerned Scientists; e-mail: ucs@ucsdusa.org.
CLEAN ENERGY SYMPOSIUM FOR ECONOMIES IN TRANSITION: This
symposium, held from 22 - 26 September in Szentendre,
Hungary and organized by the Renewable Energy and
Efficiency Training Institute (REETI), brought together
over 125 corporate, financial, governmental and non-
governmental officials to discuss energy efficiency and
renewable energy project development opportunities for the
Central and Southeast European countries currently
undergoing economic transformation. The programme was
developed in collaboration with the US Country Studies
Program (CSP) and the Regional Southeast European
Cooperation Initiative (SECI) to support their clean energy
programs. Participants noted that the meeting assisted
these countries in transforming their policy initiatives
into market realities by supporting the development of
investments in emerging clean energy market segments and
facilitating several projects. The Symposium was sponsored
by, inter alia, the Hungarian Ministry of Industry and
Trade, the CSP, the World Bank Group and the Government of
the Netherlands. For more information contact the REETI;
tel: +1 (202) 496-1417; +1 (202) 496-1494; e-mail;
rhsellers@aol.com.
FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CARBON DIOXIDE CONFERENCE: This
conference was held in Cairns, Australia from 8 - 12
September 1997. Over 200 delegates from 25 countries
discussed the latest in research on the global carbon
cycle. The program was organized around half-hour
presentations of the most topical results with other papers
presented in a series of poster sessions both during the
day and into the evenings. The conference was organized
into sessions that covered papers under the general topics
of oceans, atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere. The
oceans sessions covered topics as diverse as iron
fertilization experiments, the rate of CO2 uptake by the
oceans, and modeling the oceanic carbon cycle. The
atmosphere sessions covered a range of attempts to model
atmospheric CO2 variations on a variety of temporal scales
and topics such as the oxygen content of the atmosphere and
the isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2. Papers on the
terrestrial biosphere also focused heavily on attempts to
model the terrestrial carbon cycle, and presented the
latest results on the likelihood of a CO2 fertilization
effect, and on the magnitude of current land-use changes.
Much discussion in many sessions focused on the 'missing
CO2 sink', and while there appears to be general agreement
that the sink lies in the terrestrial biosphere, it became
apparent that there is a long way to go before there is
agreement on exactly where the sink is located. One camp
still favors the high latitude forests as the sink, based
on inverse modeling of the global distribution of isotopic
anomalies in the atmospheric CO2. An emerging alternative
is that the sink is actually located in the tropical
forests, with evidence in support of this hypothesis coming
from eddy covariance experiments in the Amazon Basin, and
global physiological models of carbon uptake by the
terrestrial biota. Further background to the meeting and
its organization can be found in summary form at
http://www.dar.csiro.au/pub/events/co2_conf/index.html
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CARBON DIOXIDE
UTILIZATION (ICCDU-IV): This conference was held from 7 -
11 September in Kyoto, Japan and was attended by 280
participants from 21 countries. Participants heard lectures
from 13 invited speakers and 123 general papers were
presented. The catalytic conversion of CO2 in flue gases
and biochemical conversion of CO2 in the atmosphere were
two major topics, comprising nearly 70% of all
presentations. Other topics included photochemical,
electrochemical, and organometallic fixation of CO2.
Participants also heard presentations concerning general
subjects on CO2 utilization, such as Japan’s basic strategy
concerning counter-measures to mitigate climate change and
the International Energy Agency’s actions on climate
change. The proceedings will be published from Elsevier
Science Publishers in February 1998. For more information
contact Professor Tomoyuki Inui, Kyoto University; tel: +81
75 753 5682; fax; +81 75 771 7285; e-mail: inui@scl.kyo-to-
u.ac.jp.
SPREP MEETING ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE: The
Third South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
Meeting on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise was held in
Noumea, New Caledonia from 18-22 August 1997. The Chairs
for the meeting were the Government Representatives and
Administrators of American Samoa, Cook Islands, Kiribati,
Samoa and Vanuatu. The Chair's “Summary of Findings and
Future Needs” states, inter alia, that a review of
scientific information and understanding in the Pacific
regarding climate change and sea level rise draws on
information from a range of sources. They show that
temperatures have been increasing by 0.10C per decade in
the region and sea levels by 2mm/yr. There is also evidence
that climate phenomena such has El Niño and Southern
Oscillation (ENSO) will have major influences in the impact
of CC&SLR. It is also recognized that the Pacific region
plays an important role in understanding global climate
change.
Vulnerability assessments have shown Pacific Island
countries to be highly vulnerable to CC&SLR with a low
capacity to respond. This response capability needs to be
strengthened through regional and international cooperation
and education, training and awareness raising. The Summary
also discussed the impact on human health and states that
regional, national and international communities should
focus on adapting to present natural variability and
prepare for extreme events. Participants also noted that
the IPCC assessment of the social and economic dimensions
of climate change has little reference to Pacific Island
countries. They noted that the IPCC report uses models that
are mainly for developed economies and that all islands are
treated as if they are the same. Most Pacific Island
governments are aware of climate change, but they wish to
know what they have to do to address the problem. The
cultural dimension involves the environmental influence on
both people and culture. The response options for the
region include migration, resettlement and
decentralisation. All these need planning as they have
policy implications. Thus, the future direction will have
to be researched so that some response strategies will be
planned and recommended for the future adaptations. For
more information contact: South Pacific Regional
Environment Programme (SPREP), P.O. Box 240, APIA, Western
Samoa; tel: (685) 21 929; fax: (685) 20 231, e-mail:
sprep@pactok.peg.apc.org.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY
SBI: SBI will meet at 10:00 am and consider national
communications
SBSTA: SBSTA will meet at 3:00 pm and consider non-Annex I
communications, activities implemented jointly and
technology transfer.
This issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin
is written and edited by Paola Bettelli
, Chad Carpenter, LL.M.
, Peter Doran and
Steve Wise . The Editor is Pamela
Chasek, Ph.D. and the Managing Editor is
Langston James Kimo Goree VI .The sustaining
donors of the Bulletin are the Netherlands Ministry for
Development Cooperation, the Government of Canada and the
United States of America (through USAID). Support for this
edition was also provided by the UNFCCC Secretariat.
General support for the Bulletin during 1997 is provided by
the Department for International Development (DID) of the
United Kingdom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark,
the European Community (DG-XI), the German Ministry of
Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the
Ministries of Environment and Foreign Affairs of Austria,
the Ministry of Environment of Sweden, the Swiss Federal
Office of the Environment, and UNDP. ENB can be contacted
at tel: +1-212-644-0204; fax: +1-212-644-0206. IISD can be
contacted at 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor, Winnipeg,
Manitoba R3B 0Y4, Canada; tel: +1-204-958-7700; fax: +1-
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